Reporting Under the Microscope in Israel-Palestine and South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID7501481
AuthorsMichael Tasseron (0000-0003-0072-0676, Independent Scholar, Tokyo, Japan, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume17
Issue5
Pages970-990
Publication date2021-08-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2021.1966643
OpenAlexW3197147502
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited47

Criticism of media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict arguably exceeds that of other conflicts. As advanced in their Propaganda Model, Herman and Chomsky claim that this may result in “flak” (26), which can constrain news coverage of certain issues (see Herman, Edward S., and Noam Chomsky. 2002. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon). Researchers who have examined flak’s perceived influence have typically focused on media outlets in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in Western contexts. This study examines flak and its perception in relation to reporting on the 2014 Gaza war and the period since then by the foreign news media. Interviews were conducted with media professionals who worked in the region and further afield in South Africa. They were asked about their perceptions of flak and how it is believed to inform their work. The findings show flak remains a significant factor for journalists and editors in both contexts. However, the South African news media are willing to engage with and debate the conflict’s complexities. I argue this is informed by political sentiment in the country, which is largely supportive of the Palestinian cause. This facilitates media coverage that contests the informational asymmetry of the conflict, which in most Western contexts results in reporting sympathetic to Israel

Criticism · Mass media · Media studies · Perception · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social Media and Politics · Law

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